Debate contribution: Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Debate contribution by Mr Timothy Gaston on 10 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Timothy Gaston

Party at the time

Traditional Unionist Voice

Date

10 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5437226

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the veto that the DUP is exercising at the Executive to oppose the creation of yet another unwanted, costly, green-welly-brigade quango in Northern Ireland. The proposal is the latest example of the Minister prioritising his environmental ideology over the agriculture sector — the very sector that he is supposed to champion, yet continually treats as the poor cousin in his portfolio. Let me be clear: protecting our waterways and our environment matters, but creating another costly quango is not the way to achieve those protections. Let us examine the Alliance Minister's record on the issues that he wants to farm out to another body. On 3 March, Minister Muir told the House:

"Northern Ireland Water has reported that more than 20 million tons of untreated sewage and waste water spill into our waterways every year, with storm overflows discharging over 24,500 times annually." — [Official Report (Hansard), 3 March 2026, p18, col 1].

I regard that as the Minister failing to protect our waterways. He still has not done anything about that issue.

I am happy to give way.

I have been in the Chamber for 20 months and have continuously pushed you on that issue. At the very beginning, you said, "Oh, it's not my Department. I'm not into the blame game", but, thankfully, you have woken up and moved to the mood music that you have to do something about it. You criticised the farmer but protected Northern Ireland Water. I am glad that that narrative has changed. Let us look more broadly at the environmental side of Minister Muir's portfolio. The Minister is under pressure over allegations relating to the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) that were first reported to his Alliance colleagues 11 months before, the Minister claims, they were first brought to his Department by an MLA and GB News. Let us remind ourselves what those serious allegations are, as reported by a whistle-blower who worked to AFBI: slurry spreading during the closed period, including blowing slurry into Hillsborough Forest; collecting Bovaer milk in a tanker and disposing of it into the willows, diluted with dirty water; biosecurity failures, with badgers roaming around the yard; and numerous animal welfare concerns. I regard that as another fail on the environment by Minister Muir. Those allegations strike at the very heart of fairness and credibility in the Department on the watch of the Alliance Party, which tabled the motion. The allegations suggest the existence of a two-tier system: one rule for private farmers and another for a government-run, publicly funded body.

Forgive me, Mr Deputy Speaker, if I roll my eyes when the Alliance Party tables a motion looking for an independent environmental protection agency. The Minister is already in charge of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). If Mr Tennyson's summing up is correct on the doom-and-gloom picture that he lays out regarding the environment, I suggest to him that he write to his Minister, because he is the man who has the power to do something about it. Oh, no! He is in the same party, so we have to farm this out to, guess what, an independent body. That is the code word in here for saying, "No responsibility here". Look at the MLA pay increase: "It is independent, so it is not our problem, guv". Farmers are already under severe pressure from rising costs, greater regulation and the uncertainty of what the next round of nutrients action programme (NAP) proposals will be. A powerful new environmental regulator risks laying even more restrictions on that sector that is vital to our economy, our rural communities and our food production. This is especially absurd when the Minister and his party already have the powers and levers at their disposal to do something about it. At a time when public finances are under immense strain, the people of Northern Ireland will rightly ask why millions of pounds should be spent on another administrative body. If that money exists, I suggest two places where it should go. The first is to Northern Ireland Infrastructure, so that it can stop pouring 20 million tons of untreated sewage into our waterways and unlock the capacity to get our housebuilding sector going again. If that is not acceptable, the second one is that the Minister should look at giving grant aid to the farmers, who could then bring in new environmental projects that will lower emissions on their farms. They are being strangled and prevented from doing so because of the red tape, poor responses by NIEA and SES. I am happy to give the Minister time to come in.

Deputy Speaker, there are only 15 seconds left, and I gave the Minister the opportunity to come in. He wants to be smart, but he knows rightly that it is DFI. It is putting 20 million tons of raw sewage into our waterways. If he wants to be smart about it, I ask him to go and speak to the Sinn Féin Minister, who could not, would not be drawn, because it was their Minister leading to the problem with pollution —

— in Northern Ireland.

858 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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